Chapter 539: Appearance
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"You are saying that... the 'Door' is protecting us?"
Tantai Guihu looked at Tantai Guijing incredulously.
"Back then...the whole Tantai residence had been afflicted by the curse and was pulled down to the netherworld. It fell directly to somewhere near the Green Bronze Door and was met with the curse over there!"
Tantai Guijing went on composedly.
"Although many in the Tantai family have died, everything will go back to normal when the day comes...anyway, with the existence of the Green Bronze Door, no ghost swarm or powerful spirit would dare to come anywhere close to this valley. It protects us. Of course, no Tantai would dare to approach the Door either. Those who have tried are now dead!"
"In my opinion, the 'Door' did not save us. We are but the sacrificial animals it has chosen, or the prey that it has rounded in. Hence, it will not allow any other 'predators' to come close…"
"The whole Tantai family, are....sacrificial animals?"
Tantai Guihu's voice was quivering with resentment.
"All this...it is all because of the Curse of the Door! And the rash actions of our ancestor…"
Tantai Guijing shook his head. He still had no idea of the truth about Tantai Moye!
"No matter what...we must face this curse! That Green Bronze Door… can it be destroyed?"
Tantai Guihu gritted his teeth.
"Of course we've tried it before. Unfortunately, all the elders who have approached the Door triggered the curse and combusted spontaneously… the area deep within the valley is now restricted to all of us."
Tantai Juexin shook his head.
"If only that person was still alive…"
He thought about the last 20-year cycle and about how it was Tantai Mieming who managed to damage the Green Bronze Door, giving them valuable time to recharge their strength. If he was still around, they would no doubt have a chance at succeeding.
"Immeasurable heavens!"
The Daoist Sanmi and Master Kuhai had heard of Fang Yuan too. As they looked around at the bewildered faces of the Tantai elders, they did not know what to feel.
This Tantai Mieming was more remarkable than they had expected!
At the moment, however, they were stuck in a difficult situation.
They did not know whether they should gather all of their forces and mount an assault on the Green Bronze Door, or defend passively and await reinforcements.
Unfortunately, even with the protection of the Curse of the Door, they could not guarantee that Tantai Mieming would return in time or at all.
"We are 3 days away from the activation of the curse! We can only wait till then!"
Finally, it was Tantai Guijing who spoke up definitively.
"If Tantai Mieming still cares about us, he will return!"
Looking at him now, one would have thought that he was an elder who cared about the welfare of the younger generation. No one would have guessed that he had callously employed his own grandchild as a tool back then.
"Knock knock!"
At this moment, dull knocks suddenly rang out. The sound struck deep into everyone's chest cavities and everyone could feel their hearts pounding with every blow.
"It's...it's that 'Door'!"
A Tantai elder announced in a quavering voice.
"It...has come!"
"How is that possible? It isn't time yet…"
Tantai Guijing and the rest walked out into the yard and saw the image of a huge door flickering over the horizon. They were all at a loss for words.
When the curse had activated back then, it had left a deep impression on them.
At that point, the netherworld was the home ground of the opposing forces. Without Tantai Mieming to restrain them, they were more powerful than ever!
"Juexin, open the temple!'
Tantai Guijing gritted his teeth.
"We'll fight!"
"Yes, sir!"
Tantai Juexin sped towards the temple purposefully.
There were two important buildings in the rear premises of the Tantai residence. One was the sacrificial hall and the other one was the temple.
The sacrificial hall was where the Tantais sealed up objects and worshipped supernatural beings while the temple was a resting place for the Tantai ancestors, many of whom were elite exorcists!
The temple had defence mechanisms guarding it and Tantai Juexin took out a piece of jade which ensured his safe entry.
When he pushed open the door, rows upon rows of memorial tablets greeted him.
Behind the memorial tablets laid a hidden chamber.
Tantai Juexin took a deep breath and entered the place just as he had many times before.
It was a gloomy space peppered with the dim glows of spirit lamps. They illuminated the place like millions of fireflies.
Rows of figures sat upon armchairs and stared down sternly from their positions on the altar.
"My forefathers!"
Tantai Juexin fell to the ground and kowtowed unhesitantly.
"Your descendant Tantai Juexin prays for your help!"
These seated figures were the ancestors of the Tantai family, some of them from the time of the migration. The founders of the Tantai residence were all skilled exorcists and were highly cultivated. Even in death, their bodies did not decompose nor reek.
After doing his bow, Tantai Juexin got to feet and looked at the magical equipment lying on the altar.
'The ancestors are long gone and have no interest in our prayers...but rituals have to be observed anyway…'
As Tantai Juexin caressed the magical equipment, he felt as though his ancestors had turned their heads and were now staring at him.
"As long as they did not die as a result of being cursed, the ancestors would come here to pass away...this would allow them to consolidate their cultivation and spiritual will such that a powerful curse is created… this is the final asset of the Tantai family! A slight divergence back then had created Tantai Mieming!"
A slight divergence had created a Strange Level curse. If Fang Yuan found out about this, he would take a great interest in this place.
Nevertheless, he was too young back then and given the naturally guarded behaviour of Tantai family members, he would not have found out much.
In truth, this was a source of sorrow for the Tantai family too!
To deal with the curses and ghosts, they were forced to create curses of their own in order to pass on their powers to their descendants so that they at least had a fighting chance.
"Right now… this can't wait anymore!"
Tantai Guihu gritted his teeth and picked up a little bronze knife and a magical bell from the altar.
Woowoo!
As he held onto these two tools, Tantai Juexin saw an ocean of blood before his eyes. He was experiencing a vivid illusion.
Dozens of hands were grabbing onto the tools he held and transmitting power to them.
"This is truly the ultimate weapon of the Tantai family! The power it has is unrivalled by any other magical tool!"
As Tantai Juexin held onto the bronze knife, he suddenly understood how to utilise it. When he took a swipe at the air in front of him, a wormhole appeared.
Tantai Juexin stepped in unflinchingly.
Boom!
His surroundings changed.
The many Tantai elders were combating the great flickering vision of the Door with their skills in exorcism.
What a door it was.
A great door cast in bronze, it was a peculiar purplish-black in colour. On its sides were two huge ghostly figures guarding it.
Key to its appearance was the vivid and intricate carvings embossed on it. They were of the many Tantai family members who had been killed by the curse, and their souls had been trapped by the Door.
This was the embodiment of generations of Tantai sweat and tears, and now, it was biting them back.
Even Tantai Guihu could not control his emotions upon seeing the Door before him.
Gash!
The mask with a crack on its face that Tantai Guihu was wearing suddenly split apart and fell to the ground. Fresh blood oozed out from its remains.
Tantai Guihu screamed. He had been disfigured.
"Impossible...the ghost mask could withstand the force of the spacetime curse...why did it fall apart this easily?"
Tantai Guihu slashed open his palm and subsequently understood the difficulties of dealing with the Door.
"This is only an image of the Door...how would we possibly deal with the real Door?"
Buzz!
The Green Bronze Door let out a roar as the two ghostly figures began to open it. A strange sound split the air.
As the sound waves hit them, some of the Tantai family members grabbed at their necks as their blood vessels exploded. They had become profusely bleeding corpses.
Simultaneously, wispy figures rose from their bodies and rushed collectively into the Green Bronze Door.
As the Tantai people died, one could see that more carvings of figures with bloody tears had been added to the Door.
"Immeasurable heavens!"
"Amituofo!"
In this critical moment, the daoist and the monk joined forces. A bolt of light rushed up into the skies.
Purple symbols appeared in the void and entered the bodies of everyone present. The effects were beneficial to them.
"It is the most powerful curse indeed!"
Even though they had deflected the blow for the time being, Daoist Sanmu and Master Kuhai were troubled.
"Dealing with the Door already creates this much trouble. What about the things that lie behind the door?"
"Set!"
Tantai Guihu had acted as well. The image of a mirror materialised and gave off a fiery light that enveloped the Door.
In this light, the flickering image of the Door seemed to solidify.
The real Green Bronze Door had appeared!
This was the first thing that Tantai Juexin saw as he rushed over.
"Help me, my forefathers. Slash!"
Without hesitation, the bronze knife in his hands flew out and turned into a ray of light. Bringing with it the strength and conviction of a kamikaze warrior, it embedded itself firmly into the Door.
"The generations of Tantai blood tears, and all that I am burdened with, is because of you!"
Blood flowed out of Tantai Juexin's nose and mouth. Wielding the bronze knife had not been an easy feat. Still, he was intent on resolving everything today!
No matter how terrifying the curse might be, it would be a victory for the Tantai family if they even managed to damage the Door slightly.
Then.
Bang!!!